Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a strategy based game that pits you against an alien invasion. You have limited resources and it’s up to you to save the world. You know, hero stuff.

The story is fairly simple. There are some twists and turns but nothing executed in a way that would get you on the edge of your seat. What will get your attention is the gameplay. That’s where the meat of this game is.

The idea is simple: kill the enemy and don’t die in the process. But it sure as hell isn’t easy, even on “Casual” setting.

There are 3 modes of difficulty. Casual, Advanced and Hardcore. The gameplay puts you in overhead view of the, at times very large, field and you guide your troops by setting a route via a map. You’ll be switching back and forth from the map quite often to find the best routes to progress. Your troops always push forward so there is no traditional “retreat” as in turning around. If you want to go back you have to go all the way around, say, a block in order to go back. Simple enough, unless there’s a group of enemies positioned in the area.

You have several types of troops to purchase such as Tanks or shield generating vehicles. Earning money to purchase troops can be a pain since resources are so low. It can get frustrating and at times I wished I could jump in the game to demand we remove funding from education and alocate them to the military. You do have the ability to heal your troops or give support. Smoke screens can  make them hard to see to the enemy. You’ll also receive the ability to call air strikes. These abilities come in the form of items received upon either killing an enemy or when you reach certain checkpoints. You can upgrade your troops but it’s still an enormous challenge. The enemies just feel way too strong. Normally I like challenges and this game is challenging. However, diving into a pool full of snakes and trying to get to the other side without getting bit is a challenge, too, but it wouldn’t be fun. This was one of those games where you’d slam the controller on the ground and storm out of the room then immediately come back and try to finish it. You know, to satisfy your ego.

The UI can be annoying. The text can be really small and the color scheme makes things hard to read at times. The graphics aren’t bad but there’s nothing to drool over. It’s quite alright for the game. Making things too detailed might make the visuals seem too chaotic for you to get a clear view of the field.

Overall I give the game a 3/5. It frustrated me to hell and back and the UI kept getting on my nerves. Although it’s not my cup of tea I think fans of the genre will get some kicks out of it.